Japan Pump Price Falls below 170 Yen for 1st Time in 29 Months

Tokyo, Nov. 19 (Jiji Press)–The average retail price of regular gasoline in Japan stood at 169.8 yen per liter as of Monday, down 3.7 yen from a week before, falling below 170 yen for the first time since June 2023, industry ministry data showed Wednesday. The decline came after the government increased its subsidies to oil wholesalers from 10 yen to 15 yen per liter on Thursday last week ahead of the planned abolition of the provisional gasoline tax surcharge at the end of this year. The hike in subsidies is aimed at preventing sharp fluctuations in gasoline prices after the abolition of the surcharge. As the subsidies are set to be raised further, retail gasoline prices are expected to continue falling. The subsidies are slated to reach 25.1 yen on Dec. 11, equal to the surcharge. An official at the Oil Information Center of the Institute of Energy Economics said that the decline in the nationwide average pump price was “larger than expected,” adding that a number of gas stations reduced their prices, following in the footsteps of rivals that did so early. The average price dropped in all 47 prefectures of the country. Of them, the western prefecture of Tottori logged the largest decline, at 5.2 yen, while Okinawa, southernmost Japan, saw the smallest fall, at 0.1 yen. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]